I am looking to get a nice aftermarket wheel for my Miata and have narrowed it down to a couple Momo and Sparco models. Nearly all of the wheels that I like are covered in suede/alcantara and I'm not sure how great the durability of the material would be. Car gets about 2500 miles of street use per year plus a bunch of autocross days. I don't want to spend a few hundred bucks on a wheel just to have it look like garbage in a few months. Anyone have any experience with one?
Sweat and the oils on your skin will make any sort of suede wheel look pretty mangy after a few months. So unless you drive with gloves all the time, I would avoid them.
You have to clean them often or wear gloves if you want it to always look new.
I had one for about 20k miles. It was a Mugen steering wheel (made by Momo) and I often cleaned it. You use a stiff brush.
By the time I sold it, it still looked like new after cleaning it.
Look at the pictures of my S2000 in my profile and you will see what it looks like when dirty. That's what happens when the oil from you hands gets all over it over time.
BoxheadTim wrote: Sweat and the oils on your skin will make any sort of suede wheel look pretty mangy after a few months. So unless you drive with gloves all the time, I would avoid them.
Thank you for the hints on my Fanatec Porsche wheel for fun stuff. 
I'd put the timeframe as longer than a few months, especially if you're only driving 2500 miles a year. I've had a couple of suede wheels. But they do definitely flatten down with time.
TAMU FSAE can wear out a suede wheel in 12-15 hours of autox duty with gloved drivers.
I've had good luck with the cheap tennis gauze tape on a kart wheel. It doesn't last long, but it is nice and tacky and costs two bucks a roll.
yeah suede/alcantra is nice for stuff, but not steering wheels. Never understood it. I like plain leather,
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